Israeli media show the Star of David flag flying in the village of Maroun al-Ras, symbol of the ground operation launched by Tel Aviv in southern Lebanon. The maneuvers were expanded with the sending of the first division of IDF reservists to the south-west of the country. The announcement came after the IDF ordered the evacuation of dozens of towns and villages in the area, including the coastal town of Naqoura, where United Nations peacekeepers are based. Precisely the situation of the Unifil mission, which includes numerous Italian soldiers, was at the center of a telephone conversation between the Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, and his Israeli colleague, Israel Katz. The head of the Farnesina reiterated the “Italian request to ensure maximum protection for the Unifil contingent”, obtaining reassurances “in this regard”.
Words arrived while satellite photographs cited by Al Jazeera showed around forty IDF military vehicles near the Unifil base in Maroun al-Ras. Speaking to LaPresse, Unifil spokesperson Andrea Tenenti clarified that the Israeli vehicles “for days” were a few meters from the “Irish base” before moving. Hezbollah, for its part, announced that it had killed and wounded several enemy soldiers who were crossing the border near the al-Labouneh forest, near a UN position. The ‘Party of God’ continues to respond to the Israeli offensive by launching dozens of rockets towards the north of the Jewish state. Over 100 targeted the Haifa area; the majority – reported the IDF – were intercepted. The coastal capital has been openly threatened by the Iranian media, along with Tel Aviv, in view of the expected Israeli retaliation against the Islamic Republic. “Before Israeli planes even travel the 2-3 hour distance to reach Iranian airspace,” the cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv would be “destroyed” in “less than ten minutes,” the ultra-conservative Kayhan newspaper warned.
A new chapter in the tensions between Washington and Tel Aviv risks being written on the terms of the retaliation. According to Axios, White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan asked Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer for “clarity and transparency” on the retaliation plans, because they will have implications for American forces and interests in the region. The Biden administration is apparently losing its trust in the Israeli government’s reassurances also on the Lebanese dossier: US officials interviewed by CNN have expressed fears about the possibility that Tel Aviv, despite promises of a limited operation, could move to a war on large scale. With frequent raids on Beirut, Israel decapitated Hezbollah, killing historic leader Nassan Nasrallah. His own designated successor, Hashem Safieddine, may be dead. Israel has eliminated “Nasrallah’s successor and his replacement,” Benjamin Netanyahu announced, probably referring to Safieddine himself.
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